I Don't Know, But I Do Think

I Spend Months, Sometimes Years, Doing What I Call Dreamtime, Weaving It Together Inside My Head. But When I Actually Feel That The Egg Of My Story Is Ready To Hatch, Then I Can Write It In Three Months. Then I Know The Landscape And The People Well And From The Inside, But I Don't Necessarily Know Where The Story Is Going To Take Us.

I Write Fiction. I Make Things Up, It's What I Do.

When I Write I Try As Far As Possible To Forget I'm Writing It At All. I Tell It Down Onto The Page, As If I'm Telling It To One Person Only, My Best Friend.

Elephants Are My Favourite Creatures And Have Been Since I Was A Boy And My Mother Read Kipling's The Elephant's Child To Me. It Was Loving Elephants So Much That Made We Want To Write My Own Story With An Elephant At The Centre And Its Bond With A Child.

Encouraging Young People To Believe In Themselves And Find Their Own Voice Whether It's Through Writing, Drama Or Art Is So Important In Giving Young People A Sense Of Self-worth.